This invention generally relates to a system for supporting buildings above ground surface, and is particularly directed to restraining the lateral movement of posts and piers under girders and building sections of crawl space homes. The present method of support is so designed as to effectively eliminate the consideration of ground tremors and contour, with a unique method of using fabric to contain poured in place concrete footings to prevent such conditions that may adversely affect the integrity and stabilization of vintage crawl space homes lacking any connection to its foundation stem wall.
Experience has taught that the weakest structural points of the crawl space home is the footings that settle with age. In order to attain adequate support, a footing must be poured in place with at least six square feet of actual surface area which never before could be achieved due to the confined crawl space leaving the most important component needed to strengthen and support the post holding the girder up missing and, thus, the lateral movement of the existing post can cause the home to collapse. Such lateral shifts among the posts can even cause these vintage homes to slide off their stem wall and cause serious damage or even total collapse. Historically, vibrations resulting in the lateral shifting of posts have caused these homes to collapse effecting possible injury to the home's occupants, and/or destruction of content property, and/or structural damage to the home itself.
It is, therefore, the general object of this invention to provide a poured in place concrete footing to support and brace existing or new posts that can be expediently installed. Another object of the invention is to provide the only known seismic retrofit for crawl space homes. Recently the City of San Francisco appointed a czar to oversee retrofitting older crawl space homes. Financial assistance to homeowners of fifty thousand dollars or more is available, but the FEMA states that they are at least four years away for coming up with a way to retrofit these homes. A further object of this invention is to provide the badly needed retrofit now. Another object of this invention is to save lives and be cost effective at the same time. Most homes can be retrofitted for less than half of what the City of San Francisco will pay out.
It is in object of this invention to provide a complete do-it-yourself foundation footing repair package. Unfortunately, currently there is no easy way for a homeowner to do foundation repair on their own. It is typically something that a homeowner hires an engineering company or contractor to handle. A further object of the invention is the provision of a device that will preclude lateral movement of the posts and girders against each other. An additional object of the invention is to provide a device that may be quickly and expediently installed on substantially any size crawl space home.
Other objects and advantages of this invention reside in the combination of elements, arrangement of parts, and features of construction, which will become more fully apparent as this description proceeds.